Singapore's High Court increases jail term for doctor convicted of drugging and molesting Malaysian patient

The High Court of Singapore has increased the jail term from 3½ to 4½ years for an aesthetic doctor who drugged and molested a Malaysian male patient over the course of two days in a hotel room last year.

Tan Kok Leong, 51 also took 27 photographs of the victim's penis while the patient, a Malaysian doctor, was unconscious.

After an 18-day trial, Tan was sentenced to 42 months' jail last year and was convicted of four out of five charges. Two charges were for molesting the patient at Oasia Hotel in Sinaran Drive on 5 and 6 July 2013, and another two for administering Dormicum and Rosiden on separate occasions before each sexual assault.

The High Court heard that after Tan performed a liposuction procedure on the victim, he told his assistants to leave the intravenous plug in the man's arm.

The patient was then brought to Oasia Hotel where he was sedated with Dormicum. Upon loss of consciousness, Tan undressed him and took photographs of his penis "in multiple positions", prosecutors said.

Both spent the night at the hotel, and Tan repeated his actions the next day.

Doctor attempted to justify actions by victim-blaming

Prosecutors also said Tan had tried to "legitimise" the sexual assault by "blaming everything on the victim". Tan claimed the photographs were taken because the man wanted "treatment for his curved penis".

Tan appealed against his conviction and sentence, while prosecution appealed against the acquittal.

On 25 May, Justice See Kee Oon dismissed Tan's appeal, who said that "all that had taken place could not possibly be explained away as being part of a series of clinical procedures and that the (victim) had somehow consented to the acts in question.”

Tan also faced a fifth charge for molest, for which he was acquitted previously but Justice See overturned the acquittal and convicted Tan of molesting the same victim on 6 June on the operating table, while he was sedated during another liposuction procedure.

The assault was witnessed by two assistants, who testified against Tan at his trial.

Charges increased due to severity of actions

Justice See said that the District Judge should have concluded that the charge was proved beyond reasonable doubt as "there was no plausible reason why (Tan's) hand would have reached underneath the surgical drape around the (victim's) genitals while performing a liposuction procedure around the abdominal area."

Justice See also agreed with the prosecution that the sentences on each charge be enhanced "to more appropriately reflect the gravity and egregiousness of the offending conduct".

Tan cannot be caned as he is above 50 – stherefore Justice See imposed two months' jail in lieu of caning for each molestation charge, totaling to 14 months' jail.

For the administration of sedatives, Justice See increased the term on each charge from 30 months to 40 months as he said the original sentence was inadequate as Tan abused his position as a senior medical professional, took advantage of the vulnerability of the sedated victim, and that he had exposed the man to “serious risks involved in sedating an unmonitored patient with Dormicum in a non-hospital environment”.

The jail terms for one charge of each offence were ordered to run consecutively, making 54 months (4½ years). MIMS